Stock-feeding mechanism



Imm 2% 1929, G. s. SMITH 1,732,321

STOCK FEEDING MECHANISM 'Filed May 7, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet l 'Ill 1 Il l l 1% [K l l i G l 'l u.. u. i l II l Q\ :I l ll l i! 6@ uf, l@ N u l @XD /N WENWWM] Wwwsses o 1% fy//M 4 Lf/ @Mmmm Oct. 22, 1929. G. s. SMITHA 1,732,821

STOCK FEEDING MECHANI SM Filed May '7, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 d'1 I Lf] xq N /m/E/vm/z wrm/.fases Oct. 22, 1929. G s SMlTH f 1,732,821

STOCK FEEDING MECHANI SM Filed May '7, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 22, 1929. l G, s, SMITH STOCK FEEDING MECHANISM Filed May 7, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 /N www@ "mum f. 929.

G. E. SMITH STOCK FEEDING MECHANISM Filed May ''I 1925 FIEJS.

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 /M VEN Tll? fill Patented (dei. M., ld

UNITED STATES mi @mdf PATENT OFFICE GEORGE S. SMITH, OTEnl PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSGN MENTS, T0 PITTSBURGH SCREW AND BOLT CGRPORATION, A CRIPBATION F PENNSYLVANIA Application tiled May 7,

This invention relates to metal working and more particularly to a method and apparatus v for feeding and heating stock preliminary to its introduction into a forging or upsetting machine.

In the manufacture of bolts or similar headed articles, stock in the form of wire or a continuous rod is fed into a heading machine by an intermittently operated feed mechanism which generally consists of feed rollers. Prior to being introduced into the machine it is necessary to heat the stock to a forging temperature.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved method of continuously heating wire stock or the like' and feeding it to a forging machine.

A further object is to provide a mechanism for continuously heating such stock to a forgn ing temperature as it is fed toward the machine, which mechanism is so constructed and arranged as to enable the use of a smaller heat zone than has hitherto been possible.

A. still further object is to provide an im proved form of feed mechanism for causing the stock to travel through the heat zone.

A still further object is to provide an apparatus of the type set forth which will be simple and cheap to manufacture and operate, rugged in construction and reliable in operation.

These and other objects which will appear obvious to those skilled in this particular art, are attained by means of this invention, one embodiment of which is shown, for the purposes of illustration, in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a diagrammatic plan view of an apparatus adapted to perform this improved method. Fig. 2 is a view thereof in side elevation. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of one form of mechanism for feeding the stock through the furnace, showing its cooperation with and operation by the associated forging machine. Fig. t is a view in side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3. Fig 5 is a view similar to Fig. l showing the opposite side of the mechanism. Fig 6 is an elevation showing the mechanism for feeding the stock through the heating fur- 1925. Serial N0. 28,613.

nace and Fig. 7 is a'vertical transverse secw tion thereof on the line 7-7 of Fig. 5.

The drawings illustrate my invention as applied to the heating and feeding of wire stock to a forging machine such, for example, as a bolt header. A reel of wire stock is supported adjacent one end of a heating furnace, and the wire passes through the furnace in its travel to the upsetting machine so as to be heated to a forging temperature. The customary practice has been to pass the wire through the furnace in a single direction and then feed it directly into the upsetting machine. This necessitates the provision of a comparatively long furnace in order that the stock may be in the heating zone a sutlicient length of time to have its temperature raised the required amount.

ln order to enable the use of a shorter and smaller furnace than has heretofore been possible, l lirst passthe wire directly through the furnace in the usual manner. instead, however, of then feeding the Wire directly into the forging machine f pass it around a roller and bach again through the entire length of the furnace, thence around a second roller and through the furnace for a third time, after which it is fed into the forging machine in the usual manner. Either roller at either end of the furnace around which the wire passes may be operated as a feed roller for passing the wire through the fur nace, but .t preferably use the tirst roller, which is between the 'furnace and the forging machine, as the feed roller, in order that the vsame may be operated from and synchronous ly with the machine itself.

The particular embodiment of this invenn tion which has been chosen for the purpose of illustration is shown in connection with a bolt header or upsetting machine .ttl of any desired construction having the usual inteinn mittently operated feed rollers ll for supply ing the machine with wire stoclr. l2. A. fun nace 13 for raising the stools to any desired temperature is provided adjacent the machine and may be of any desired form, but as abupve indicated can be substantially smaller in eine than the usual furnace, due to this method titi dit

Sti

titl

ice

of passing the stock therethrough a plurality of times.

A reel 14 of the wire is rotatably mounted 'I preferably form the roller l5, which is at the machine end of the furnace,y as a feed roller and operate the same from and synchronously with the machine itself.

The shafts 17 on which the feed rollers 11 of the-machine are mounted have the usual gears 18 on the opposite ends, and these gears are intermittently operated to feed the stock into the machine by alarge driving gear 19 mounted on a stub shaft 20 which also has secured thereto a gear driving ratchet 21. The ratchet is intermittently rotated by ratchet engaging pawls 22 secured to an oscillating supporting plate 23 loosely mounted upon the stub shaft 20 and which is oscillated bymeans of an oscillatory crank arm 24 operated from the driving wheel 25 of the machine through a connecting rod.26.

The feed roller 15 is operated in synchronism with the feed rollers 11. Aturnbuckle 27 has one end secured to the reciprocating end of the connecting rod 26 by a link 28 and its opposite end is mounted upon a crank pin 29 which is adjustable'in a crank arm 30 secured to a shaft 31 mounted in bearings 32 on a housing 33. The opposite end of the shaft 31 has an oscillating toothed segment 34 secured thereto, the teeth of which mesh with teeth form'ed on a pawl supported plate 35 which is loosely mounted on one end of a shaft 36 supported 1n bearings 37 on the houslng.

, Pawls 38 are secured to the plate 35 and are Aso adapted to intermittently rotate a ratchet 39 secured to the shaft 36.

Each pawl has an outwardly extending arm 4() Whose outer ends are connected by links 41 to a handle 42 pivoted to the pawl supporting plate 35. While the weight of the links 41 and handle 42 are suicient to ordinarily maintain the pawls in engagement with the ratchet. 39, the handle 42 can be raised so as to disengage the pawls from the ratchet to enable adJustment of the mechanism and to permit the wire to be threaded throughvthe urnace and introducedinto the feed rolls 11.

The opposite end of the intermittently rotated shaft 36 is provided with a spur gear 43 which meshes with and drives a smaller gear 44 rotatably mounted upon a stub shaft 45 in the side of the housing 33. The gear 44 drives a second gear 46 secured to a shaft 47 extending into the housing 33, and the inner end of which is provided with a bevel gear 48 meshing with a similar gear 49 secured to a vertical shaft' 50 which extends through a bearing 51 in the top of the housing, and to the upper projectin end of which is secured the wire feeding roler 15.

The vertical shaft is provided with a spur gear 52 which drives a similar gear 53 secured to a second vertical shaft 54 which is supported in horizontally movable bearing blocks 55. A pinch roller 56 is mounted on the upper projecting end of the shaft 54 and is adapted to press the stock into driving engagement with the feed roller 15 so as to prevent any slipping of the stock on the roller. A spiral spring 57 is compressed between each bearing block and a spring plate 58, slidable in a groove 59 formed in a plate 60 secured to the side of the housing. Each plate 58 is adjustable toward and from the movable bearings 55 by means of threaded members 61 which are threaded in the supportin plates and whose outer ends are provide with cranks 62. By varying the position of the plates 58 the pressure of the springs upon the movable bearings can be increased or diminished so as to control the pressure of the pinch wheel 56 upon the stock as it passes around the roller l5. The mesh of .the gears 52 and 53 is suiiiciently loose to permit the slight adjustment necessary.

In operation a reel 14 of stock is rotatably mounted upon a movable supporting arm 63 and the wire is drawn through the heat zone of the furnace, around the feed roller 15, back through the heat zone, around the idler roller 16, through the heat zone for a third time and is thence fed by means of the feed rollers 11 into the heading machine. The feed roller 15 is intermittingly operated in synchronism with the rollers 11 and by the same driving means which operates the latter rollers. In starting the operation the wire can be drawn around the feed roller 15 and the latter rotated independently for this purpose by disengaging the pawls 38 from the ratchet 39 through the medium of the handle 42, after which release of the handle 42 will move the pawls 38 into engagement with the ratchet 39. Preferably the feed roller 15 is driven slightly ahead of the feed rollers 11 so as to provide sufficient slack of the stock in the furnace to eliminate tension thereon and thus reduce the load on the feed rollers 11. When the reel of wire has been exhausted the reel 14 is removed from the supporting arm 63 and the end of the wire is butt-Welded, for example, by an electric Welder 64, to the end of the Wire on a fresh wheel 65 which is supported on the opposite' end of the arm 63. The latter arm is rotatably mounted on the base 66 so that it can be rotated to move the fresh reel 65 into position adjacent the furnace.- The empty reel 14 is removed and a full one put in its place so that the operation can be repeated at the proper time.

By feeding the wire through the furnace a plurality of times I am enabled to use a subith ttt

titi? tid ntnntiniiy smniier ful-nene than has hithettn heen hoesihie The feed toiiei 'i5 teheven the i entire iength otnine is enniiy etonomplished` Without undue strain.

hithongh I have described and iiinsttnted n pnitioniar embodiment ot this invention it Witt he nndetstood that vnrione modiontionn, ndditionn, substitutions and omissions can he mede Without departing from this invention oi the scope ot the appended omini..

Whe-t it eieim ne new and deeire 'to Sechi-e hy hettei'e Patent is:

the eoinhination with a forging machine ptovided with Stoch ieedingg mechanism in eindingn n tend opetnting iet/ett ntnn npetnted hy seid innohine, of nn nseoointed inenting" inn nece 'tomhenting Stoch ied to said innehine end niennn tot teedin, @toch through snid intennee ineinding n 'tee toit, n pnnfi sind intohet drive tot' opetating smid toed toit, nn adinet nhie etnnh; tot" opetnting Enid pend nnd .tntohet nnd n tntnhnohie oonneoting @nid oinnh to @nid ietetn nini,

iin 'tentimony nhei'eott, i hnve hetennto enhn l ectihedjnny neme thiehtidn oi Mn 9 1995i.,

f1 t t it 

